Our History

Here are the links to pages on this site related to the roots of the Alumni Corps.

• Our History
  • 50th anniversary!
  • 50 Years of Drum Corps in Canada (7 meg Acrobat File)
  • Optimists Alumni: The Beginnings
    • Acrobat file notifying people of the first rehearsal of the Alumni Corps
  • Memories from the Past
    • Memories of the Years
      • 1958
      • 1963
      • 1964
      • 1966
    • Memories from Other Sources
      • 1958: The Strange Case of the City Hall Flag (by Phil Hennings)
      • 1962: Bill Thorne interviews Joe Gianna & Doug Mackenzie (Acrobat file, from Green capsule Comments)
      • 1963 Individuals Results from Dec 1963 Off The Line Magazine ((Acrobat file, 250k)
      • 1964 Article on the Optimists (Acrobat file from the April 23, 1964 issue of the Toronto Telegram )
      • 1965 Year Book (Acrobat file) (5.8 mgs)
      • 1968: How Rick Roussel became an Optimist (by Ray Roussel)
      • 1977 article on Ken Mulgrew of the Seneca Optimists (6.8 mg Acrobat file)
  • Our Members Marched With...
    • Canadian Commanders
    • Danforth Tech
    • De La Salle "Oaklands"
    • Etobicoke Crusaders
    • Golden Monarchs
    • Grantham Police Boys Band
    • Guelph Royalaires
    • Hamilton Conqueror
    • Jolly Jesters
    • Leaside Lions
    • Oakland Crusaders
    • Opti-Corps (1957)
    • Optimist Lancers & Cadet Lancers
    • Scarborough Firefighters / Seneca Princemen
    • Seneca Optimists
    • Simcoe United Alumni
    • Toronto Optimists
    • Toronto Signals
    • Western Tech
      • excerpt from the 1954–55 Western Tech Yearbook
    • York Lions
  • Our Optimist Roots (by Vern Johansson)

    • Download the complete article in Acrobat Format  (Acrobat File)

    • The Beginnings

      • Acrobat file (winning 1958 Canadian Championships in Galt)

    • Their Hearts Belong to Daddy

      • JPG File (the 1956 Championship certificate)

    • Are These Guys for Real?

    • On, March On

    • Maybe This Green Machine Has too Many Miles On It

    • "You Better Bleed on the Finish Line"

      • Acrobat file on the 1962 Rome, NY show (2 megs)

    • How Long Can This Machine Last?

    • The Field Is Still Green, But the Sky Is Cloudy

    • Happy Birthday, Canada

      • Acrobat file (winning 1967 Nationals)

    • Small, But Mighty

    • Those Were The Days

    • Seneca Optimists (1 + 1 = 1)

    • Former Optimists
  • Scrapbooks
    1. 1968–1969
    2. Spring 1970
    3. Summer 1970: Part 1a
    4. Summer 1970: Part 1b
    5. Summer 1970: Part 1c
    6. Summer 1970: Part 2
    7. Winter 1970–1971
    8. Winter 1971
    9. Summer 1971: Part 1
    10. Summer 1971: Part 2a
    11. Summer 1971: Part 2b
    12. Winter 1971–1972
    13. Summer 1972
    14. Summer 1972
    15. 1973–1975
  • We Remember those who have gone (web page intro)
    • We Remember (Acrobat File with photos and a few words)

    Mr. Al Baggs Al Lathan Al Lavigne Al Morrison Al Punkari Al Tierney Ben Burrage Bernie Beer Bernie Thompson Bill MacMillan Clayton Keat Dave Barrett Dave Byrne Dave Hanks

    *Dave Watt Derek Branton Diane Tenaglia Don Chisolm Doug Harrison Doug McPhail Doug Shearer Ed Hall Fred Shearer *Gary Corbett Gord Angus Gord Robinson Guy Vezina *Harry Prokop

    Ian Robertson *Martin McVeigh Mike Andrews Réal Garneau Roman Perohanycz Ron Cook Ross Colville Scott Cumming Tim Burrage Tim Roussel Tim Watt *Vic Sciore Sr. Wilson Chung Wolfgang Petschke